The YouTube clip of Mabel Dolmetsch cavorting to her husband's lute (not "clavichord") referred to by James Fenton ("Things that have interested me", October 13) certainly offers fun at the expense of the early-music movement, but he is a bit unfair with his next example. Gustav Leonhardt has every reason to be periwigged and "picturesque": the clip is actually of him playing not just the harpsichord, but the lead in the opening scene of the musical costume drama Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (Huillet and Straub, 1968) - itself, of course, now something of a period piece.

Richard AbramEssex

On Silver Street

Some years ago, Michael Wood argued that the nationality of William Shakespeare's landlady in Silver Street could be seen as evidence that Shakespeare was a covert Catholic: French citizens living in London were exempt from the dictates of the "Elizabethan Settlement", and so perhaps an English lodger might get away with discreet attendance at mass. It is therefore amusing to be told by Charles Nicholl that Mrs Mountjoy and her family were Calvinists ("The gent upstairs", October 20). Clearly Charles Nicholl has worried away at the documentary evidence with rather more vigour than Michael Wood.

Jeremy Muldowney York Shakespeare Project

Erotic delights

The prudish iconoclasm and bowdler-isation suffered by the Latin poets, discussed by Mary Beard ("Romp with Romans", October 20), have also been applied by the Church to the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament. Still influenced by Victorian-era interpretation, the book is often laboriously spiritualised almost to the point of innocuous tedium. Yet to the unbiased eye, it emerges as exciting poetry with erotic delights that deserve to be rediscovered.

Michael J Smith London

In defence of Polanski

Chris Petit seems unconvinced by the 1974 film Chinatown ("Who's the midget?", October 13) and completely dismisses everything that Roman Polanski has directed since. True, he made two Hollywood-type thrillers - Frantic (1988) and The Ninth Gate (1999) - and the misfire Pirates (1986), but he has also directed two cult faves - The Tenant (1976) and Bitter Moon (1992) - and the masterpieces Tess (1979) and The Pianist (2002). That he is working outside the Hollywood system, I would see as a plus rather than a demerit.

Paul DuncanRugby

In defence of the 70s

I can only hope that Andy Beckett, in reviewing Mark Garnett's From Anger to Apathy ("Things can only get better", October 13), is wrong to say that most people agree that this country is a better place now than in the 1970s. For the majority of British people, they were the best times ever. Housing was affordable, students had grants, eye and dental check-ups were free at source, car parking was usually free, the work environment was far more relaxed, working hours were shorter, the retirement age was lower, it was far cheaper to watch sports events, the service provided by the public utilities was far superior, and so on. Somebody needs to write a book to nail the ludicrous myth that we are better off now; the reality is that the future has never been so bleak.

John ParkinNuneaton

In defence of Richard Russo

DJ Taylor, reviewing Richard Russo's novel Bridge of Sighs ("No way out", October 20), produced a well-written critique but missed what for me was the point of the book. It is about the paths we take in life, how and when we choose those paths and the manner in which, at the age of 60, we look back on our lives. I did not find it so much a "down" book as a thoughtful reflection of the times. The characters matter to us.

Priscilla RobichaudNew Hampshire, USA

What does promiscuous mean?

Steven Poole's review of Deborah Cameron's The Myth of Mars and Venus ("Gender agenda", October 20) proposes that Lord Chesterfield revealed his own sexual prejudices in characterising women's language as "promiscuous". This interpretation maligns Chesterfield. Johnson's dictionary of 1755 offers "mingled; confused; undistinguished" as the definition, citing "the promiscuous dispensation of God's providence" among other references.

Patricia Baker-CassidySilverstone, Northants

How many David Beckhams?

John Sutherland ("Ink and spit", October 13) too obviously teaches English literature rather than mathematics. Five David Beckhams in the LA Galaxy team do not equate to the five Nobel prize-winners on the teaching roster of his university in the United States unless there are only 11 faculty.

Terry PhilpotLimpsfield Chart, Surrey

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